BMW K1200S mini review

Looks:
- very nice, although I'm not too sure about the rear-end...
- I like the blue and white colourscheme
- Sounds very nice
- Does look very long

Usability:
- Sidestand would not be of much use in a lot of streets in the UK. A
downslope of more than 1 degree will have the bike fall forwards and result
in a quite a bruise on the lowerleg, trying to keep it up.
- It's a bit like a very overpriced ZZR, can happily ride it for hundreds of
miles, due to the riding position. Seating position is just good enough for
me, higher than the ZZR. Not too sure about the shape of the seat, might get
uncomfortable after a few hundred miles.
- It does have a bit of torque, before you know it, you're doing xxx km/h
and seeing one of the grey photograph type thingies will have you test the
ABS. Feels strange and there are supposedly some issues in extreme
conditions with the ABS, ie: not working.
- Quite a bit of info in the screen. Gears are indicated. When you're
approaching 65 km of fuel left in the tank, it will tell you and count down,
which is nice....or disconcerting .
- Can't get used to the indicator buttons, especially the cancel button.


Would I buy it? Probably, if it weren't for the extreme high price-tag.
Basic price is ?17.700.. Can nearly buy two SV1000SZ's in the proper Suzuki
coulour for that. So the next testride will more than likely be on the
SV1000.

 

Spete emerged from their own little world to say

It becomes intuitive: so much so that you get disorientated on other bikes
:S

 

I found that day to day this is true. However, in an emergency the old
habits can resurface.

I recall when overtaking a line of cars, perhaps a tad too fast, a car
suddenly turned right in order to do a U-turn. I hit the brakes and
horn... and got silence. When my past life stopped flashing before my
eyes, I found that I had given the dozy twat a damn' good left
indicating.

 

Pip Luscher emerged from their own little world to say

I've done that on a couple of occasions.

Some people have gone as far as swapping the wires between horn & indicator
as it is easier to hit the orange flappy paddle in a hurry. When indicating
you tend to be more deliberate so they find hitting the higher button is
straightforward.

Personally, I just adapt, eventually. My early work history involved
driving hire vans and all sorts of cars in a Fiat garage so I have always
been accustomed to turning left accompanied by screeching wiper blades.....

 

It's a bloody nuisance at times. After years of driving boxes with left
stalk indicators and lights, this SOJC has the wipers on the left. A
year on I'm still occasionally flashing someone with my wipers.

 

I'm pretty sure a lot of Harleys use a similar setup...
--

Cheers!
Fr Jack
96 Tiger.
FRJACKUKRM AT GMAIL DOT COM
skype: fr.jack (without the dot)
Open up your eyes, just to check that you're asleep, again

 

Harleys used to have a system whereby the indicators only kept flashing
as long as you pressed the button on either bar. If you were trying to
blip the throttle, do a downchange, use the clutch, brake, etc at the
same time, it was impossible to use.

 

I have problems with the DT, as it's pre- press-to-cancel (but
also thankfully pre- Yamaha's auto-cancel) and that action is engraved
into my synapses. I think I might have caused some mayhem on the M25
when I left the indicators running...

--
Ivan Reid, Electronic & Computer Engineering, ___ CMS Collaboration,
Brunel University. Ivan.Reid@[brunel.ac.uk|cern.ch] Room 40-1-B12, CERN
GSX600F, RG250WD, DT175MX "You Porsche. Me pass!" DoD #484 JKLO# 003, 005
WP7# 3000 LC Unit #2368 (tinlc) UKMC#00009 BOTAFOT#16 UKRMMA#7 (Hon)
KotPT -- "for stupidity above and beyond the call of duty".

 

Verdigris fumbled, fiddled and fingered:

My F650 has a standard Jap style indicator switch (in fact I think
theyre Honda switches) and the K has the one each side BMW ones, and
true enough it takes some thinking about at times.

--
Steve Parry
K100RS SE & F650
and a 520i SE Touring for comfort [temporarily scarred]

(not forgetting the SK90PY)

http://www.gwynfryn.co.uk

 

My SOJ4x4 is the wrong way round too. I too sometimes wash my
windscreen at people.

 

I tend to find that flashing my headlights is remarkably ineffective at
clearing the windscreen.

 

I do that when I was spwaaping from car to car. The Sprint has the horn on
the stalk ffs. It was evens all around if someone would get washed,
beeped, flashed or indicated at..........
--
Catman MIB#14 SKoGA#6 TEAR#4 BOTAFOF#38 Apostle#21 COSOC#3
Tyger, Tyger Burning Bright (Remove rust to reply)
Alfa 116 Giulietta 3.0l (Really) Sprint 1.7 75 TS 156 TS S2
Triumph Speed Triple: Black with extra black bits
www.cuore-sportivo.co.uk

 

Dr Ivan D. Reid says...

I never had a problem with the auto-cancel on my RDs.

 

Lozzo fumbled, fiddled and fingered:

nor I

--
Steve Parry
K100RS SE & F650
and a 520i SE Touring for comfort [temporarily scarred]

(not forgetting the SK90PY)

http://www.gwynfryn.co.uk

 

I never, ever understood why Yamaha ditched those self-cancellers.

Simple, and they worked.

 

They fitted them to the whole range, I think. I certainly had them on
the XS750 and 250 - I'm not sure about the 650. Quite reliable.

 

Just about every road (not dirt) Yamaha from 250cc upwards had them,
yes. They were perfect: they always seemed to cancel at exactly the
right moment, whereas the self-cancellers on my old Kawasaki GT750 never
stayed on for long enough.